Sarah O’Kelly talks to Stephanie Palmer, Battalion Chief of the Training Division at Coral Springs Fire Department and – perhaps of most interest to Boat Radio listeners – Dive Team Commander.
Born and raised in Indiana, Stephanie did not dive as a kid but she moved to Florida from Indianapolis in 1997 and joined the dive team a few years later. She’s a search and rescue diver, and most of her work takes place in Florida’s lakes and canals. Every one of her 300 dives has been in ‘dark, black nasty water’ and she works with her eyes closed. Oh, and she encounters ‘gators – in the dark – plus aggressive, venomous snakes like the water moccasin or cottonmouth viper, which has a potentially fatal bite. You think you’re tough? Think again.
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